The wedge-shaped coupe could receive an update, but it’s not expected to be a carbon copy of the original.
- DeLorean Motor Company appears to be planning a battery-electric coupe under the DeLorean brand, with a reveal set to take place sometime this year.
- The Texas-based company, which acquired the rights to the automaker’s name, currently sells parts for the original model.
- Italdesign is involved with the new sports car project, with Giorgetto Giugiaro having designed the original DMC-12 coupe.
If you’ve been waiting this whole time for a cyberpunk EV and don’t necessarily want it to look like a truck, there could be another option not too far in the future.
The DeLorean Motor Company, or rather its successor in the IP rights, has shared a short teaser video previewing an EV with gullwing doors, set to a Chris Nolan-style trailer soundtrack with ominous-sounding horns.
The vehicle is promised to arrive in 2022, perhaps under the name DeLorean EVolved, as the company’s tweet suggests.
Curiously enough the previewed vehicle does not really suggest a design composed of mostly flat geometric shapes, especially when it comes to the profile of the roof. If you look closely, the teased design appears to feature a pronounced curvature to the A-pillars and the hood.
It does, however, feature gullwing doors, which at this point appear to be the sole element carried over from the original, along with the badge up front. To us the rendering in the teaser video looks far more like a front angle of the Bricklin SV-1 rather than the original DMC-12.
— DeLorean Motor Company (@deloreanmotorco) February 13, 2022
The only thing clear at the moment is that it is intended to be an electric sports car with gullwing doors.
But a direct remake of the original DMC-12 is perhaps not intended at all, even though individual EV conversions of the vintage model are certainly out there for the right price. Whether there is a sizable market for a thoroughly redesigned DMC-12 is a separate question, one the company has not addressed even generally on its website.
Of course, this is far from the first attempted relaunch of a vehicle under the DeLorean name. You may recall the Texas-based company started opening up pre-orders for a future model back in 2016, intending a more or less direct design replica of the original.
Adding intrigue, the design consultancy Italdesign shared an identical teaser video this week, suggesting it’s involved with the current project that could see a new vehicle model with some nod to the original, but not a replica.
Italdesign’s involvement is notable: The original car was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Plus, the company has been working with Williams Advanced Engineering on an EV platform.
Just how much demand there is for either a fairly direct copy of the original, or something different but with gullwing doors, is an open question. A number of small companies currently offer EV conversions for classic cars, so obtaining an original DeLorean with an EV powertrain is just a question of money even today.
But whether there is a market for something with a DeLorean name but a more modern design, along with a sales and service operation behind it, will perhaps be answered in due time. If the Isetta can come back as an EV, then perhaps DeLorean can as well.
Keyword: What Does DeLorean EVolved Actually Promise?